Same source image. This was the first “real” thing from reference I tried to paint since the mid 90s. I figured after a year I’d try again and see how I’ve progressed. What do you think?
The 2024 version

Timelapse https://mastodon.social/@BallShapedMan/115256481266601680


Yeah, the illusion looks quite good from afar (eg the thumbnail for the post) but full screen I noticed that many of the strokes emulating leaves at the contours of the tree end with straight edges perpendicular to the branch rather than being more rounded or have some noise that breaks up the straight lines.
I mark up what I mean here:
Oh I see what you mean. That’s totally what I did with the pencil. I’ll keep an eye on that next time!